7 Safe Ways to Get Kids Cooking
September 13, 2017

Our brand new junior recipes from our Family Box are the perfect excuse to get kids cooking. It’s never to early to start training up your little sous chefs! Involving your kids in the prepping of a meal can have really positive results – the kitchen is where they learn and pick up their cooking and eating habits. Our family chef Andre is a big advocate of this: “pop an apron on them and get them involved. Asking them to do things makes the child feel important however small the task”. If kids grow up with parents who cook fresh, homemade food, they are far more likely to replicate these habits in later life.

7 Safe Ways for Kids to Help in the Kitchen

1. Remove Pepper Cores

Cut the peppers in half with a sharp knife before the kids take over! Make things fun by timing them and seeing how quickly they can de-core and deseed the peppers!

2. Chop Herbs with Scissors

Not only is this a great thing for kids to help you with, but it is also a brilliant kitchen hack that will save you time even when the kids aren’t helping! Put the herbs (basil, coriander, mint, parsley etc.) into a mug. With a pair of safety scissors chop the herbs until fine. Using a mug or a glass means the leaves are compressed into a small space, so is much easier to cut them up!

3. Squeeze Fruit

Tell them to roll lemons and limes on their sides before you help cut them in half (this makes them much easier to juice!). Make sure they take care when adding the juice to other ingredients to prevent pips from falling in!

4. Mix Up The Ingredients

Encourage your kids to help by asking them to mix dry ingredients in a bowl with their (washed!) hands or with a wooden spoon. Teach older kids about different mixing techniques (folding, whisking and beating with a whisk) and show them the best way to incorporate all the ingredients together.

5. Wash Your Veggies

Even the youngest children can help with the dinner prep by washing the veggies! They can also start tearing lettuce for the salad, scrubbing potatoes to clean them, and cutting soft foods (like olives and strawberries) with a butter knife or dull plastic knife.

6. Picking Leaves off Herbs

Start small and gradually progress – this is a great thing for the youngest of your clan to start with. A fun task for the kids to help with and a fiddly one you can avoid! Win win!

7. Chop Veggies (with the help from a grown-up)

Older kids can help chopping veggies, with the help of steady grown up hands! Be sure to show them how to hold the ingredients steady and safely before they chop with a knife.

Print out our poster and stick it up in your kitchen!

If you’re looking for ways to #StressLess in the kitchen, make sure you check out our family-friendly tips and tricks here.